Well so far this year I have played with 10 pieces - competitively - that I never thought in a million years I would use in constructed squads (as opposed to league or sealed play), thanks to the creation of some of the newer pieces:
1. Princess Leia, Captive. When A&E first came out and I discovered the Ithorian Commander, she was my first thought. Then I saw Han in Armor and thought of all the amazing possibilities that awaited. I built a squad around the 3 of them and it was fun for about 2 weeks until I realized I could do even more with some of the other newer Fringe options, like...
2. Ayy Vidda. Attacking from 12 squares at +19 for as much as 50 damage, she was the natural evolutionary step in my "Hell Freezes Over" squad (ironically, I didn't know the Eagles were trying to make a comeback at that point). Eventually, I abandoned the Ithorian in favor of expanding Han Solo in Stormtrooper Armor (nicknamed HISA, pronounced Huzzah!) style squads more toward ranged options like...
3. Bossk, Bounty Hunter. Momentum for 12 squares out and then Double Claw Attack on the subsequent rounds. Won me a tournament with that combo one day. Good times. As for not so good times, I did try out a couple of other characters for the first time this year like...
4. Queen Amidala. I thought her Rapport and Mobile Attack would be great with JWM's in 150. Wow was I wrong. In order for those things to be good you have to remember to use them. Oh well. Another example of not so good times was...
5. Mace Windu, Jedi Master. Believe it or not, I never used him, not even once, when RotS was still new. The CS version was miles ahead of him in terms of game play, which wasn't saying much given that he took up so much of the squad points for little benefit outside of triple-chance critting. However, I had the urge to play him and JM Qui-Gon in a recent friendly game of Dynamic Duo. The experience assured me not using him - ever - was never the wrong call. Other pieces I have used for the first time this year included...
6. Yoda of Dagobah. Wow, did I hate that piece for the longest time. 36 points for a character that can't do anything except wave his stick at the enemy and try to collect gambit. Talk about a piece that was too easily ignored. But now, wow, between Vader's Apprentice Redeemed and Luke Hoth Pilot, YoD has finally come into his own. He even found his way into my hard-sleeve carry case. (Most of my rares and occasional playables are delegated to the binder, and only those I use with any frequency actually get to travel in the hard sleeves, so it was kind of a big deal.)
Yoda of Dagobah is a Force Battery that can cancel opponent's Force powers, and with all the new Force Push powers, he's not so easily ignored anymore. My favorite time with him was when I stunned Boba BH 3 rounds in a row. Sorry pal.
7. Han Solo, Rogue. I knew before I even traded for him that I would never use him. What a crummy Han. But now we have the Muun Tactics Broker and a second Master Tactician, so I had to dig him out of the crate of eternal darkness and shove his card into a hard sleeve for traveling. Which reminds me: meanwhile, over in the dark side...
8. Exar Kun. I'd seen other people use him in consistently losing squads, so I never bothered. But then I saw the Muun Tactics Broker and I thought this could be his chance to shine in the spotlight. Initiative control comes to the Sith, and in a way that is manageable when it becomes a disadvantage. And you can't play Kun without...
9. Dark Hellion Marauder on Swoop Bike. Saw it when I opened my BH boosters, thought it was stupidly bad. Then along came the Muun Tactics Broker and I saw hope for Exar Kun. But I've already been over that. Finally...
10. Chewbacca with C3P0. Just once, I wanted to see what a squad of Double Attackers could do with Garm Bel Iblis. Now I know. So long pal, you weren't even fun for 30 seconds.
All-in-all though, it is nice to see that old pieces are being made playable in interesting ways. Gives some hope for the future, IMO.
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"I would really, really like to not have anything else happen at the end of the round other than things just ending." -- Sithborg
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